


Running Out of Time

by watcherofworlds



Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Episode: s04e09 Dark Waters, Gen, Prompt Fill, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watcherofworlds/pseuds/watcherofworlds
Summary: Prompt fill for Whumptober Day 4 "Running Out of Time"
Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956160
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Running Out of Time

Felicity hadn’t been in very many prisons, but in her experience, they weren’t usually so quiet. In all of her memories of visiting Cooper in prison before his apparent death, the thing that stood out the most clearly, even through all of the intervening years since, was the  _ noise _ , the clamor of inmates throwing taunts back and forth-both at each other and at the prison guards- occasionally banging on the walls and doors of their cells, hundreds and hundreds of people with nothing to do but make themselves heard. Here, no one made a single sound, not even so much as whisper. As far as Felicity could tell from the view through the bars of her cell door, no one even moved. They just sat there, ready for whatever fate awaited them. Granted, this wasn’t really a prison in the conventional sense, more like a dungeon than anything else, but still. It was eerie.

Felicity shifted in her seat, feeling out of place in her bright red dress, surrounded by still, silent people in identical drab grey clothes. She’d never liked to draw attention to herself, which was why she worked so much better from behind a computer, but here she felt as bright and noticeable as a ruby thrown in the dirt.

_ Okay, no one mark me down for joining a cult _ , she thought, mostly to try and distract herself. Because that was exactly what Darhk had created- a cult. Whether he had drugged them like he had his Ghosts or not, whether they were here willingly or not, these drably dressed, utterly silent people nevertheless believed in Darhk completely, without pause or reservation. They would follow him anywhere, do anything he asked of them, accept any fate he had planned for them, even if it was to die for his cause, whatever it was. They still hadn’t figured out what his end goal was.

With the realization that she’d found herself in the midst of a cult came the inescapable feeling that its members might attack her if she made even the slightest move wrong. Felicity fidgeted, trying desperately to dispel some of her nervous energy. This was a familiar coping strategy for her when she felt uncomfortable or ill at ease- over the years, she had even noticed that she had picked up Oliver’s nervous tic of rubbing his thumb and forefinger together- but this time around she noticed that her fidgeting consisted mostly of rubbing the base of her left ring finger, the spot where an engagement ring would sit. It wasn’t entirely surprising, given the topic of the conversation she and Oliver had been having before the attack, but it was a bit unsettling.

_ I’m going to die with Oliver not knowing the truth _ , she thought grimly.  _ That if he’d asked me, I would have said yes. _ Maybe it was fatalistic, but Felicity didn’t see herself making it out of this alive. As much faith and trust as she had in Oliver, she didn’t see how he could stop whatever Darhk was planning to do to her and to John and Thea.


End file.
